Rose ‘Velvet Fragrance’ (Hybrid Tea)

Where to Plant Roses

Choose a sunny position with fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. Most roses flower best with at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. Good air circulation around the plant will also help keep growth healthy.

Planting Bare Root Roses

Before planting, soak the roots in a bucket of water for a couple of hours. Dig a generous hole wide enough for the roots to spread out naturally without bending or crowding them. Position the rose so the graft union – the swollen point where the stems meet the roots – sits around soil level, then backfill, firm gently and water thoroughly.

Planting Potted Roses

Water the rose well before planting and dig a hole slightly wider than the root ball. Remove the plant carefully from its pot, position it at the same depth it was growing previously, backfill with soil and gently firm around the roots. Water thoroughly after planting.

Watering & Feeding

Keep newly planted roses well watered while they establish. Feed established plants as growth begins in spring and again in early summer to support healthy growth and flowering. An annual mulch of well-rotted manure or garden compost will help retain moisture and improve the soil.

Top Tip

Plant ‘Velvet Fragrance’ somewhere you regularly pass, such as beside a path or seating area, where you can make the most of its exceptional scent.

When to Prune

Prune in late winter or early spring as new growth begins. Start by removing dead, damaged, weak or crossing stems and any very thin growth.

Pruning Hybrid Tea Roses

Cut the remaining healthy stems back to strong outward-facing buds, creating an open, balanced framework. Hybrid Tea roses respond well to fairly hard pruning, which encourages vigorous new stems capable of carrying their large flowers.

Keep the Flowers Coming

Deadhead faded flowers regularly through the flowering season to encourage further flushes and keep the plant looking tidy. When cutting flowers for the house, use clean secateurs and avoid removing too much stem and foliage from young plants.

Top Tip

Use clean, sharp secateurs and make cuts just above healthy outward-facing buds. This encourages new growth away from the centre of the plant and helps maintain good air circulation.

Make the Most of the Deep Red

The rich crimson flowers of ‘Velvet Fragrance’ work particularly well alongside softer colours that allow their depth of colour to stand out.

Add Cooler Contrasts

Blue and purple salvias, nepeta and hardy geraniums make excellent companions, providing a cooler contrast to the deep red roses while helping to fill gaps around the base of the plant.

Lighten the Planting

White and pale pink flowers also work well with the dark crimson blooms, while silver-grey foliage from plants such as stachys or artemisia can help brighten the surrounding border.

Top Tip

Give ‘Velvet Fragrance’ a position where its flowers won't become lost amongst lots of other strong colours. A simpler surrounding palette will really show off those rich, velvety blooms.

Your Rose – Hybrid Tea

‘Velvet Fragrance’ is a Hybrid Tea rose. Hybrid Tea roses are prized for their large, beautifully formed flowers, usually carried individually or in small groups on strong stems. Many are highly scented and their strong stems make them particularly good roses for cutting.

Other Types of Rose

Floribunda Roses

Floribunda roses produce their flowers in generous clusters, creating plenty of colour over a long period. They usually have a bushy habit and repeat flower through summer, making them excellent choices for beds, borders and larger containers.

Shrub Roses

Shrub roses develop into naturally shaped bushes and are particularly useful for adding height and structure to borders. Their flowers vary from simple open blooms to large, fully double roses, depending on the variety.

Climbing Roses

Climbing roses produce long flowering stems that can be trained over walls, fences, arches and other supports. They don't cling by themselves, so their stems need to be tied to a suitable support as they grow.

Rambling Roses

Rambling roses generally produce longer, more flexible stems than climbing roses and are excellent for covering larger structures, pergolas and mature trees. Many produce impressive displays of smaller flowers carried in generous clusters.

Flower Carpet Roses

Flower Carpet roses are a range of ground cover roses bred for their spreading habit, long flowering season and good garden performance. They're particularly useful for creating low-maintenance colour in borders, banks and larger planting schemes.

Persica Roses

Persica roses are instantly recognisable by the contrasting eye at the centre of their flowers, a characteristic inherited from Rosa persica. Modern varieties combine this unusual colouring with repeat flowering and strong garden performance.

Bare Root Roses

Bare root roses are supplied during autumn and winter while they are dormant. Although they may look simple and leafless when they arrive, the plants have stored energy in their roots ready to support fresh growth once conditions warm in spring.

How They Arrive

Your bare root rose will arrive without a pot or compost around its roots. Unpack it promptly and aim to plant it as soon as possible.

If You Can't Plant Straight Away

Keep the roots covered with moist soil in a cool, sheltered place and keep the stems dry. Aim to plant within seven days, avoiding frozen or waterlogged ground.

Planting Bare Root Roses

Soak the roots in a bucket of water for a couple of hours before planting. Dig a generous hole, improve the soil with compost or well-rotted organic matter and position the rose so the graft union sits around soil level. Backfill, firm gently and water well.

Potted Roses

Potted roses are established plants supplied ready to plant and can be planted at almost any time of year, avoiding frozen, waterlogged or extremely dry conditions.

How They Arrive

Plants are carefully selected and pruned where necessary to encourage a strong, open framework. The pot is protected during transit to help retain moisture and safeguard the roots.

If You Can't Plant Straight Away

Place the pot in a sheltered outdoor position and water regularly to keep the compost moist until you're ready to plant.

Planting in the Ground

Dig a hole slightly wider than the root ball and plant at the same depth as it was growing in the pot. Improve the soil with organic matter where needed, firm gently and water thoroughly.

Seasonal Appearance

The appearance of your rose will naturally vary depending on the time of year. In spring you'll see fresh new growth, while during summer plants may arrive in leaf or flower. In autumn and winter they may have yellowing leaves or be completely leafless as they enter dormancy. Fresh growth will appear again when conditions improve.

Growing On

Once established, ‘Velvet Fragrance’ develops into an upright Hybrid Tea rose reaching approximately 1–1.5m high, producing strong flowering stems topped with its large crimson-red blooms.